


Problem-Solving

by Vyc



Series: Time-Strengthened Ties [2]
Category: Tales of Graces, Tales of Graces f
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-20
Updated: 2013-05-20
Packaged: 2017-12-12 11:04:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/810862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyc/pseuds/Vyc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the way downstairs for a midnight snack, Asbel gets a bit of a surprise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Problem-Solving

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of my AU where Richard gets to stay in Lhant as a child for the better part of a year, instead of only a few days. More details are available [here](http://seikilos.dreamwidth.org/31390.html) on my writing journal if anyone is interested, but it's really not necessary to know more than what I've already mentioned. So, well, yeah.

Asbel had no idea how _anyone_ made it all the way from supper to breakfast without dying of starvation. Seriously, he had no idea. But somehow Hubert was slumbering happily away on the other side of the room and here he was, wide awake with his stomach bellowing at him.

He sighed. There was no way he was going back to sleep now. Time to see if he could fill in the canyon that was his stomach without getting told off for snacking between meals.

With the expertise that came from tons of practice, Asbel tiptoed past his sleeping brother, out of his room, and down to the kitchen. Lucky for him, no one else was awake, and so he was able to make a great meal for himself, largely consisting of those double chocolate chip cookies one of the maids had baked earlier in the day. (Man, they were _great_.)

With his mission of getting a full belly accomplished, maybe he wasn't quite as careful about not getting caught as he'd been on the way down. . . . Which was why he nearly died of a heart attack when someone whispered, "Asbel?"

He whirled, nearly dropping the cookie he'd taken for the road, to find— "Geez, Richard, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry," Richard apologized, still whispering.

He shrugged. "It's fine, don't worry about it. So what are you doing up, anyway? Were you hungry, too?"

"No, I. . . ." Richard looked away. ". . . No reason."

It was at about this time that Asbel was realizing something was going on. Richard was looking all curled in on himself—not in an angry way, like how he'd been when they first met last week, but in kinda a nervous way. Like he was waiting for someone to give him a smack or something.

He came around the side of the main staircase to lean against it next to Richard. "What's up? Did something happen?"

Richard turned away from him a bit more. ". . . It's stupid."

Asbel set his free hand on Richard's shoulder; he flinched. Wow, he was wound _tight._ "Come on, you can tell me. We're friends, right? That's what friends do for each other."

Richard was quiet for a long while. Then, he looked back at Asbel for just a moment before his head dropped.

"I . . . had a nightmare," he confessed, his voice low.

"Huh, is that all?" Phew—he'd been starting to get seriously worried. "What was it about?"

Richard curled up a little more. ". . . It was about Bryce."

. . . Now he felt bad. Nightmares weren't anything serious, but . . . Bryce had been real. And it sounded like there had been more people like that, too, before Richard had come to Lhant. No wonder he was scared.

"Hey." Very carefully, Asbel circled his arm around Richard's shoulders. Richard jerked and turned a shocked face to him, then looked away again.

"Bryce is gone," he went on. "He can't get you anymore. Nobody can, because I'm here to protect you. All right?"

Finally, Richard looked at him long enough to try a smile. It made something in Asbel warm, and he smiled back. Richard looked nice like that—and funny, what with the way his hair was sticking up all over the place from sleeping on it.

". . . Thanks, Asbel."

"No problem." Then he remembered what he was holding in his other hand. "Have a cookie."

Richard gave a weak chuckle. "Sure. Thanks—again, I guess."

Asbel handed it over and watched him munch, satisfied with a job well done. "Okay, I'm off before someone yells at me for being out of bed. See you in the morning, Richard."

There was a painful silence. Then, sounding kind of shaky, Richard said, "See you in the morning, Asbel."

Asbel turned right back around and returned to Richard's side. "What's wrong?"

He looked away again. "I just . . . I _know_ it was a nightmare, but. . . ."

"No problem." That was easy to fix. "I'll just sleep in the extra bed in your room. I can sleep anywhere, trust me."

"That's really kind of you. " Richard's gaze stayed stuck on the last bit of cookie between his fingers. "But I don't think I can sleep in there anymore tonight."

Another easy one to fix. "Okay, so you can sleep in my room instead."

Richard finally looked up at him, this time to stare. "What about Hubert? I can't take his bed."

"Of course not—then he'd be all cranky." Asbel shook his head. "Nah, you can sleep in my bed."

"But where will you sleep?"

"Same place as you." He shrugged. "My bed is huge—there's definitely enough room for both of us. Heck, Hubert could probably crawl in there, too, if he wanted."

Richard hesitated. Asbel could see him thinking away, way too much for something like this. Then again, that was Richard for you. He was a lot like Hubert sometimes.

Finally, his friend relaxed, just a tiny bit. "Thank you, Asbel. I . . . I owe you."

"What? No way." Asbel smiled at him. "You don't owe me a thing. You're not supposed to keep track of that sort of thing—not with your friends. Now come on. Let's go to bed before someone finds us."

Richard smiled back. "All right." He finished the last bit of cookie, and then Asbel led the way upstairs.

Hubert was still asleep when they sneaked into their room, and he even stayed that way as he and Richard sorted out pillows and blankets and stuff. He wanted to stay up and talk once they were all set, but Richard was looking pretty peaked, so he decided against it. They could do that again another time, on a night when Richard hadn't had any bad dreams.

"G'night, Richard."

"Good night, Asbel."

*

When Richard woke up the next morning, for one terrifying moment, he had no idea where he was.

He gasped, his body jerking with the sudden force of his inhalation. He had both hands fastened on what was binding his chest when his memory woke up as well: he was in Asbel's bed. The weight across his chest was Asbel's arm. At some point in the night, the other boy must have flopped over without noticing.

Richard lay back weakly and listened to his heart beat in his ears for a few moments. Then, once his breathing had slowed, he turned his head.

Asbel somehow was still asleep, one cheek pressed into his pillow and his already messy hair was absolutely wild. A smile touched Richard's lips, faint and fond. He looked ridiculous.

He also looked . . . well, strange. He'd never seen Asbel not moving before. Even when he was supposedly standing still, he always fidgeted and was soon springing back into motion. He did everything at maximum energy.

Except, it seemed, sleep. Asbel was surprisingly peaceful when at rest. Watching him made Richard feel peaceful, too. 

Trapped as he was (or so he told himself), he had the time to simply . . . look at his friend. He let his gaze trace the shape of his nose, the short, spiky spray of his red lashes against his cheek.

Its curve called to something in him. His palm would fit there perfectly.

Without intending to, his hand had already begun to rise when Asbel's bright blue eyes blinked open.

Richard brought his hand back to the bed.

"Morning," Asbel said with a smile.

Richard returned the expression. "Good morning."

Asbel sighed contentedly. "Hey Richard?"

"Yes?" He held his breath. He wasn't sure why.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you drool in your sleep?"

The pronouncement was so unexpected that he could only stare. "Wh-What?"

"It's no problem," Asbel went on. "But you really do. I'm pretty sure my pajamas got soaked last night."

"I-I'm sorry." A fine way to repay his kindness. . . .

"Don't worry about it." Asbel didn't sound at all bothered. Thank goodness. "When we were little, Hubert used to climb into bed with me, and one time, he wet the bed. A little drool is nothing."

" _Asbel_!" Hubert's plaintive voice came from the other bed.

"What? I'm just saying," Asbel answered. "Richard doesn't care, right?"

Poor Hubert. "That's right. Um, I'm sure it's happened to everyone at some point."

"Not me!" Asbel declared—but as much as he liked his new friend, Richard doubted that a bit. "Anyway. Let's go find Sophie and get some breakfast. I'm _starving_." He bounded out of bed.

Richard followed more slowly. Asbel's bed had felt safe in a way so few places did that he was reluctant to leave it. But, then again, it wasn't the bed itself that had caused him to feel that way—it was the boy it belonged to.

"Hurry up, Richard!"

"I'm coming!" Richard called and hurried after him.


End file.
